Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan, discusses current events in Iraq, the “re-Ba’athification” law, relations between various Iraqi factions such as the Sadrists, Da’wa/ISCI, former Ba’athists, “al Qaeda in Iraq,” Kurds and Arabs in Kirkuk and the consequences of U.S. policy toward them all.

Juan R. I. Cole is Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan. He has written extensively about modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. His most recent book is Sacred Space and Holy War. His blog, Informed Comment, is a widely read source for Middle East news and commentary.